Our insights

Key lessons from the SodaStream creative campaign

“Just like we need to be creative in attracting our customers, we need to be super creative in attracting new talent” – Daniel Birnbaum, CEO, SodaStream.

Earlier this year, SodaStream launched a new recruitment drive. Normally, this would not be particularly newsworthy, but this was no ordinary campaign. The ad tied in with the external campaign that had previously gone viral: and SodaStream didn’t skimp on the budget, once more bringing in actor Hafþór Björnsson (AKA ‘The Mountain’ from TV’s Game of Thrones).

Just like the external campaign, the recruitment film went viral too, currently sitting on ~450k views on Youtube alone. Not bad for a recruitment video by a company that makes fizzy water. And of course, it’s all great publicity for the product itself.

It’s the kind of creative campaign that here at The Storytellers we strongly advise our clients to go with; there is so much that SodaStream gets right with this approach. It connects the internal brand to the external brand. Purpose-led senior leaders set out the journey that their business is on. Creative messaging targets a new generation that champions meaningful work above all else. A consistent ‘big idea’ sits behind how messages are communicated.

It’s a well-executed and wonderfully creative strategy. But what is perhaps most interesting about the SodaStream recruitment ad is the impact it has had on the company’s fortunes. SodaStream just recorded its most successful quarter ever. In the six months since the ad was aired, SodaStream has more than doubled its share price, going above and beyond market expectations.

So what are we saying: that a creative campaign targeted at company employees, that celebrates the journey that a business is on and shows visible, purposeful leadership can deliver measurable financial results?